INNISFIL, ON — Uxbridge resident Dan Clements and P L Fantastic tripped around the Innisfil oval to a track record result in the sixth of seven $24,000 Grassroots divisions on Tuesday evening.

Starting from Post 2, Clements fired P L Fantastic away from the gate and reached the opening quarter in :28.4. The two-year-old trotting colt carried on to a :59.1 half and a 1:28.4 three-quarters, maintaining just over a one length margin on his rivals, and then sprinted down the stretch to a 1:57.3 triumph. Fan favourite The Golden Child, co-owned, trained and driven by Barrie resident Mark Etsell, tried to catch P L Fantastic in the stretch, but had to settle for second by three-quarters of a length. Mikey Hanover rounded out the top three.

The mile established a new standard for freshman trotting colts over the Georgian Downs surface, and gave P L Fantastic his first lifetime victory. Prior to Tuesday’s outing the Majestic Son colt had finished third once and fifth twice in three race day appearances.

Clements engineered the victory for trainer Matthew Dupuis and his father Norm’s Prince Lee Acres of Uxbridge. The homebred youngster is the fourth foal from former OSS star Corinas Mission, a winner of $543,891 in her racing career, which was capped by a Super Final win at three.

In the Grassroots divisions before and after P L Fantastic delivered his record setting performance, trainer Doug McIntosh and driver Trevor Ritchie combined to produce a pair of winners.

In Race 7 fan favourites Ritchie and Mutinyonthebounty started from the rail position and maintained that advantage from start to finish, blazing a trail to the wire in 2:00.2. Pocket Passer crossed under the wire one and one-half lengths back in second, with Northern Kingdom hot on his heels in third.

Wheatley resident McIntosh bred Mutinyonthebounty and shares ownership of the son of Mutineer and Self Secure with Randy Liepa of Livonia, MI. Through four starts this season the novice trotter has recorded one win and two seconds for earnings of $24,800 and a total of 100 Grassroots points.

In Race 11, the final Grassroots division, Ritchie employed identical tactics to get Grandin Road from Post 5 to the winner’s enclosure. The pair trotted home three-quarter length winners over Ballykeel Ulysses, halting the teletimer at 1:59. Dnieper was well behind the battling leaders in third.

McIntosh conditions Grandin Road for owner-breeders Ivey Pharm Stable of Cincinnati, OH, and the Kadabra colt has produced one win, one second and one third in five starts this season. With one event remaining on the two-year-old trotting colt Grassroots calendar, Grandin Road has 75 points earned through two Grassroots appearances. The colt has also tried his hand against the Gold Series contenders, finishing fifth in the first Gold Elimination of the season, on July 7 at Kawartha Downs, and eleventh in Gold Elimination action at Mohawk Racetrack on Aug. 19.

Southwind Nazareth jumped to the top of the division standings with a commanding two and one-half length victory from Post 7 in the first Grassroots division. The Kadabra son toured the Georgian Downs oval in a personal best 2:00.3 to record his second lifetime victory.

Shane Arsenault of Waterdown and his father Louis Arsenault of Freelton share ownership of Southwind Nazareth, who now has 175 Grassroots points, putting him in a tie for top spot with Strike The Cheque.

Mo Debra and Northern Triumph rounded out the top three behind Southwind Nazareth.

Northern Victory, Lexus Hawkeye and Tymal Oh So Nice also earned Grassroots trophies. Northern Victory was a 2:00.1 winner for trainer-driver Rodney Zeron and owner Robert Montgomery of Carp; Lexus Hawkeye clocked in at 2:01 for trainer-driver Brian Dunbar and owner John Sinclair of Palmerson, and Tymal Oh So Nice was a commanding four and one-quarter length winner in 1:59.3 for trainer-driver Carl Jamieson of Princeton and his partners Thomas Kyron of Toronto, Douglas Good of Chatham and Brian Paquet of Quebec, QC.

The two-year-old trotting colts make their final Grassroots regular season stop at Rideau Carleton Raceway on Sept. 16 before the top 20 point earners head to Mohawk Racetrack for the Sept. 23 Semifinals. The top five finishers from each Semifinal will then compete in the Oct. 1 Grassroots Championship at Mohawk.

Ontario Sires Stakes action continues at Georgian Downs on Sept. 13 and 17 as the two-year-old trotting fillies and three-year-old pacing colts wrap up their Grassroots seasons.

During Tuesday night’s Win The Thrill contest, eight more Georgian Downs fans earned a shot at the Oct. 1 Grand Prize draw for a share in the Standardbred Breeders of Ontario Association’s (SBOA) New Owner Mentoring Program. Dana Jeromkin of Bradford, Doug Luckock of Bradford, Stephen Cook of Newmarket, Will Smith of Barrie, Fred Thomas of Newmarket, Christine McKie of Innisfil, Blaj Ilie of Tottenham and Don Phair of Wasaga Beach will all be hoping their ballot is pulled on Grassroots Championship Night at Mohawk.

More information about the Win The Thrill contest and the SBOA New Owner Mentoring program is available at www.ontariosiresstakes.com and www.standardbredbreeders.com.

For complete results please go to: Georgian Downs Results — Sept. 6, 2011